3rd September

A day of two halves, neither of which were particularly riveting bearing in the mind what could/ought to be turning up at this time during a spell of decent easterlies: the morning was for the most part heavily overcast but the cloud eventually cleared to leave an afternoon and evening of summer-like warmth and sunshine. Another Osprey sighting - this time heading north over the Bill and Southwell during the evening - had been on the cards once the skies cleared, but the day's only other oddities were the Hooded Crow that was seen again at the Grove (it's presumably there all the time but rarely gets looked for now that most regular visitors have seen it) and 2 Curlew Sandpipers and a Little Stint that dropped in at Ferrybridge. Despite seemingly promising conditions at dawn common migrant numbers were for the most part lower than those logged yesterday; variety still included the likes of singles of Grasshopper Warbler, another early Goldcrest and a Pied Flycatcher at the Bill, another Pied Flycatcher at Portland Castle and a Knot at Ferrybridge.

Finally, many thanks to Joanna Dailey for news that yesterday's Osprey at the Bill was one of the juveniles reared this year at Kielder Water, Northumberland; the bird has been fitted with a GSM tracker and details of its southbound migration can be viewed here. Joanna kindly provided us with a map (courtesy Forestry Commission England) showing in more detail the bird's circuit of Portland yesterday afternoon - our sighting of it heading south past the Obs was at 15.35: